1. Field
The field of the inventions described herefollowing may best be characterized as eyewear for protection of eyes from the sun and more specifically eyewear having high quality lenses with a flip-up feature.
2. Prior Art
Eyewear design, and in particular sunglasses type eyewear, receives considerable attention with regard to improvements and perfection. This may be due to the sensitive nature of human vision and strong need for clear vision in performance of daily activity including sports.
Even casual observers will recall a great plurality of sunglasses types each being configured with various function in mind. One type of sunglasses made particularly popular by professional athletes includes those commonly and herein known as ‘flip-up’ type sunglasses. A flip-up sunglasses may typically have darken lenses in a frame which pivots from a first position in front of a user's eyes to a second position which leaves the eyes with a view clear of the lenses. These are very popular with baseball players who are often charged with having to look into shadows at one instant while having to look into direct sunlight at another. Without entirely removing sunglasses from ones face, a player can quickly ‘flip’ lenses into or out of a view path in agreement with particular view conditions.
In some versions, flip-up sunglasses are arranged to be coupled to and cooperate with conventional eyeglasses having optically powered lenses. For example, inventor Russel T. Hall puts forth a design of flip-up sunglasses which have a clip on mechanism which couples the sunglasses to normal eyeglasses. There are many alternative versions in the art; some with particularly interesting features are described below. Indeed most systems are arranged as sunglasses made to cooperate with conventional eyeglasses.
However, it is important to note that a completely different class of removable sunglasses exists where there is no powered optical lenses. Rather, there is a darkened lens or lens set which may be easily moved out of the user's view path to leave only clear space between a user's eyes and the scene being viewed. One type of such system is illustrated by very novel design and invention taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,655 assigned to Nike, Inc. of Beaverton, Oreg. A lens held by a frame without traditional temples is arranged with complementary magnetic element pairs which may be fastened to a user's head via adhesives. To remove the sunglasses for a clear view, a user simply breaks the magnetic bond between magnet pairs.
Another feature of flip-up sunglasses important to users of such devices is aesthetic appearance with regard to concealing hinging apparatus. Hinges which are readily visible tend to make glasses look bulky and clumsy. Accordingly, it is important to provide functional designs which respect desirable aesthetic properties of eyewear in commercial versions of sunglasses. The patented design of Shelton et al for “Eyeglasses With Flip-Up Lenses” presented as U.S. Pat. No. D294,950 shows one particularly neat way of combining a hinge with a glasses frame.
Where sunglasses lenses are to be combined with corrective eyeglasses, addition inventive arrangements and designs have been advanced. Of particular interest, “A Detachable Sunglasses with Magnets” is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,177 assigned to Sunreeve Company of Japan. These glasses include a sunglasses type lens set which may be coupled to a conventional corrective lens set via magnetic elements. When it is desirable to wear corrective lenses without darkened lenses, the sunglasses portion is removed, folded and placed in a convenient case. Although the sunglasses portion is provided a foldable mechanism, this arrangement is not easily used in sporting events which require one to switch the sunglasses quickly and repeatedly in a short period of time. In addition, since the sunglasses portion is totally removable from its mate, there is potential for complete separation and inadvertent loss.
A similar and very clever design which utilizes magnets is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,611. Again, sunglasses lenses are removable from corrective lenses. While in place, the sunglasses lenses are held by magnetic forces provided by magnets in the bridge portion of the convention glasses frames.
A second and similar invention taught by the same teacher Mr. Ku of Taiwan is presented as U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,691. This arrangement includes magnetic elements on hinged pieces which allow magnets to become better aligned and coupled with one another. In this manner, preferred coupling is achieved between the removable sunglasses element and the primary eyewear frame.
Finally, an interesting arrangement of a flip-up sunglasses with a magnetic element is presented as the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,981 granted Apr. 8, 1980. In this arrangement of sunglasses without corrective lenses, a magnetic element is configured as the core of a two part hinge. The second portion of the two part hinge is made of ferrous material which is highly affected by magnetic fields produced by the magnet. Although the arrangement is a curious one, it remains one without explanation as to how the magnetic arrangement tends to operate to cause the outcome desired. Experts in magnetics may challenge the notion that the magnetic arrangement tends to hold the lens frame in either of its two terminal positions or in any position therebetween.
In general, flip-up lenses of the art tend to suffer additional problems. Typically, a flip-up lens arrangement relies on a plurality of détentes arranged in conjunction with a hinge to hold a lens or lenses in a flipped-up position and sometimes in a down position. With arrangements like these, a user has to push the lens past the détente and into a position where the lens to be held.
In other versions, a mechanical interlocking clip is used to hold a flip-up lens to a conventional pair of corrective eyeglasses. These clips are sometimes difficult to operate in particular they may be difficult to release as they tend to be quite small and fragile.
Notwithstanding, very novel apparatus have been discovered which may be characterized as eyewear, particularly to flip-up sunglasses having a magnetic seating feature. While the systems and inventions of the art are designed to achieve particular goals and objectives, some of those being no less than remarkable, these inventions have limitations which prevent their use in new ways now possible. These inventions of the art are not used and cannot be used to realize the advantages and objectives of the present invention.